Results

STARKVILLE, Miss. – University of South Alabama sophomore Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) earned his third win this season over a nationally-ranked opponent but No. 10 Mississippi State took the next five singles matches to win 5-1 in a men’s tennis match Sunday afternoon.

The matches took place indoors at McCarthy Gymnasium due to inclement weather.

MSU stays unbeaten at 6-0 while USA, ranked No. 53 in the ITA rankings, drops to 2-3.

“Today was hard because we had to play on two indoor courts and were there for seven hours total,” USA head coach Nick Brochu said. “It was tough mentally for the guys. Mississippi State was very talented and had aggressive players. We competed well but we need to be more aggressive on important points.”

Leitner lost the first set to No. 28 Romain Bogaerts 6-3 and trailed 5-3 in the second before rallying for the final four games to win 7-5. Bogaerts led again in the third, up 4-1, before Leitner came back to complete his 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory.

“Daniel played some sensational tennis again,” Brochu said. “He came back from two breaks down in the third set to win five games in a row and beat a top 30 player. It shows how tough Daniel is.”

Leitner’s win tied the match at 1-1 after No. 81 Malte Stropp defeated senior Alex Bernard (Soisy Sur Seine, France) 6-4, 6-1 at the No. 2 flight.

The Bulldogs won the next three matches, dropping no more than three games in each. At No. 3, James Chaudry topped Cody Hall (Albuquerque, N.M.) 6-1, 6-2, and at No. 4, Jordan Angus followed 6-2, 6-0 over Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa).

Zach White clinched the match for Mississippi State with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Shayann Vaezzadeh (Bavent, France) at No. 5.

USA sophomore Blake Gregor (Griffith, New South Wales, Australia) stretched Pedro Dumont to three sets at No. 6 before falling in a supertiebreaker 7-6 (4), 5-7, (11-9).

“We had our chances to pull out win at No. 2 and No. 6,” Brochu said. “We need to capitalize better on break points.

“We are playing at a high level. We need to carry that energy and level of play for our next matches.”

South Alabama plays at Southern Miss Wednesday at 1 p.m.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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